Covenant Enforcement

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Last Friday, I celebrated the sun coming out by blogging on solar panels in homeowners’ associations (“HOAs”). In that entry, I mentioned that solar panels are regulated as “renewable energy generation devices” under Colorado law and cannot be prohibited from being installed in HOAs. However, associations do have some broad authority to regulate the aesthetics and placement of the panels.

Like solar panels, windmills (referred to as “wind-electric generators” under the statute) are also classified as a “renewable energy generation device” and have similar protections under C.R.S. 38-30-168.

 

Here’s what HOAs in Colorado need to know about regulating the installation of windmills:Continue Reading Windmills: What HOAs Need to Know

I can’t believe it . . . the sun is actually peeking out from behind the clouds that seem to have taken up residence over Colorado! Hmmm . . . is it time to start thinking about installing solar panels on the roof of my house? Do you think the HOA will notice if I install them without receiving architectural approval? Will the HOA try to stop me from doing my part to help save the environment?

Colorado law (C.R.S. 38-30-168) addresses the authority of HOAs to regulate the installation and use of “solar energy devices” which are defined as “. . . a solar collector or other device or a structural design feature of a structure which provides for the collection of sunlight and which comprises part of a system for the conversion of the sun’s radiant energy into thermal, chemical, mechanical or electrical energy.” Solar panels clearly fall within this definition. 

 

Here’s what HOAs need to know about regulating the installation of solar panels:Continue Reading Solar Panels: What HOAs Need to Know

The Colorado Civil Rights Division (“CCRD”) of the Department of Regulatory Affairs yesterday disseminated a news release describing a year long investigation into the towing practices of  Kimberly Hills which is located in Federal Heights. While Kimberly Hills is not a homeowners’ association (“HOA”), the same principles apply and the story is instructive for HOAs.Continue Reading CCRD Focuses on Discriminatory Towing Practices

Homeowners associations are often faced with the challenge of enforcing covenants when that enforcement is not politically popular.  Recently, an association in Louisiana directed a couple to remove a large, bright banner from their front yard.  The association’s covenants only permit the display of real estate signs.

 

Unfortunately for the association, the banner expresses support for the couple’s son, who is a Marine in Afghanistan.

  Continue Reading Sometimes Covenant Enforcement is a No-Win Situation

Imagine this, you are watching your five-year old son playing in the grass located directly in front of your townhouse when security for your HOA informs you that your son can play in the street or back alley – but not on the grass. You then receive a violation letter informing you that children are not permitted to play in the common areas. As KVVU Las Vegas reported, that’s exactly what happened to Ramona Sjogren. 

Okay – is this story a joke? Did this HOA really have an employee tell a resident to have her five-year old play in the streets and alleys instead of the common areas? Has this HOA considered the potential liability associated with kids in the community getting hit by a car backing out of a garage or driving down a street? What kind of insurance coverage is the association carrying? Do you think this HOA has ever heard of the Federal Fair Housing Act?Continue Reading Play In the Streets and Not On the Grass!

The Tennessee Court of Appeals in the case of 4215 Harding Road Homeowners Association v. Harris, 2011 WL 145915 (Tenn.Ct.App.2011) recently ruled that a homeowners association had the right to permanently force a resident out of her condominium unit as a result of hoarding activity leading to unsanitary conditions within the unit and a resulting offensive odor in the common areas.Continue Reading Hoarding May Cause Owner to Lose Unit

As the saying goes, spring showers bring May flowers. In Colorado, we could add another line to that verse: Dry summer conditions bring water restrictions. Okay, I’m not a poet. I also don’t have a green thumb, which is one reason I’m a fan of X-rated landscaping. And, no, I’m not talking about risqué roses. This “X” rating refers to a plant’s ability to tolerate xeric, or dry habitat, conditions.
 
Colorado homeowners who want their flowers and other landscaping to survive the high desert and alpine summers—without breaking the bank on water costs—may consider Xeriscape options as part of their overall landscape plans. Colorado law ensures that homeowners who live in community associations can use drought-tolerant plants, including buffalo and blue grama grasses, in their landscaping. This does not mean that owners in HOAs can turn their yards into rock gardens. Xeriscaping is not "zero-scaping." It does mean that Colorado community associations cannot require owners to install landscaping that consists primarily of turf grass on their lots.Continue Reading Are Your Landscape Guidelines X-Rated?

I love Maggie – our beautiful black lab. She is the sweetest most lovable dog you will ever meet. She is mellow and well behaved . . . that is until she steps outside into the backyard. Maggie immediately becomes a one-dog Neighborhood Watch and a BAD BARKING CITIZEN! 

While I’m extremely annoyed by Maggie’s barking, I can only imagine how my neighbors feel about it. It’s up to me as a homeowner living in an HOA to get the problem under control. After all, it’s natural for dogs to bark. In fact, I have it on good authority that barking is in their job description. 

 

If you live in an HOA and are putting up with a bad barking citizen, here are some tips to deal with the problem:Continue Reading Who Let the Dogs Out?

The San Diego Union-Tribune recently reported on a 70 year old woman who likes to spend time in her garage knitting, watching a little Jeopardy on TV and visiting with neighbors. Marilyn Weber, a resident of Villa Portofino Association (“HOA”), hangs out in her garage around 4 to 5 hours a day. “I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t hang out in my garage, I think I’d go crazy,” she said. “All my friends come over to this space. It if wasn’t for them I would feel isolated.”

Mrs. Weber’s HOA doesn’t feel the same way. In fact, the HOA has fined Mrs. Weber $120.00 so far for using her garage as a living space. Evidently, the HOA’s governing documents say: “No structure of a temporary character, trailer, basement, tent, shack, garage, barn or other outbuilding shall be used on any lot as a residence, either temporary or permanently.” Continue Reading Get Out of the Garage – NOW!

I have a confession to make – I’m addicted to the news. It’s pretty common for me to have the remote control for the TV in hand as I rapidly surf from news program to news program. I was in the zone Saturday morning with a cup of coffee in one hand and my trusted clicker in the other when I couldn’t get away from news accounts of an association in Florida that is proposing a ban on kids playing outside. With a nuclear plant on the verge of a meltdown in Japan, a civil war raging in Libya and Charlie Sheen kicking off his “Torpedo of Truth Tour,” why on earth was there so much press coverage about this HOA?

The fact is, whenever an HOA is perceived to be acting in an abusive manner the press will cover the story long and hard. In this particular case, a 48 unit townhouse association is proposing a ban on minors playing outside without adult supervision. In addition,ParentDish reports the proposed rule would prohibit kids from “playing tag, skateboarding, riding Big Wheels or using toys considered loud or obnoxious.” Continue Reading Put Away Your Bikes Kids and Get in the House!